Hippies In The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War marked a new era for American anti-war demonstrations.Never before had any group of people stood up against their government and questioned what the ‘system’ of rule or policies entailed. Mass anti-war movements were sparked involving many different groups of people ranging from students on campuses, public icons to everyday citizens who began marching in the streets. Influenced by the civil disobedience tactics of the civil rights struggles the first group of people to stand up against the system were networks of students who protested. The Popular media of the time especially television, also played a dynamic role in showcasing the injustices of the War to the everyday American which eventually made the people aware that

Hippies played an influential role in the anti-war protests as they rejected middle class ideology and materialism for free love an unconventionalism. Most famous for their mass gatherings like the music and arts fair, Woodstock, in 1969 where over 500000 hippies gathered for the three day event. The hippie movement as a whole was most most influential in the popular media of the time for example the music industry where rock music sales skyrocketed. More specifically hippies were also influential in anti-war protests as they participated with the SDS in university teach-ins and anti-war

8The Vietnam War became known as the Television War as the atrocities of the American’s in Vietnam became broadcasted on the news. The correlation between the evolution of the Vietnam War and the Television coincided as in 1950 only 9% of Americans had television but by 1966 93% of Americans had television which is when the War was in full swing. Television became the main source of news for Americans. The technology for video recording and audio also developed to a higher standard meaning that journalists in Vietnam could capture the true horrors of the war. The government tried its best to censor the footage coming out of Vietnam but with poor policies and control the journalists succeeded in showing the truth outraging the American public. The Tet Offensive was a huge loss for North Vietnam but was a huge gain for the anti-war movement and is seen as a turning point in the anti-war movement. . As journalists managed to capture the battle scenes the U.S began to look like villains attacking their “victims” the North. Soon other footage and media coverage appeared with photographs like the “Napalm Girl” and footage of the My Lai Massacre, which made the Americans, look terrible. As more coverage came in, it became harder for the American population to support the war and soon enough it was indeed the